Library Class and Subject Guides: Citations: Citation Managers

Managing Citations with Mendeley or Zotero

Citation managers are applications that collect, manage, and cite research sources.

MSU Mankato's librarians recommend Mendeley or Zotero. Both citation managers are endorsed by Memorial Library as effective, low-cost (or free) tools that offer a variety of benefits to their users.

Mendeley or Zotero can help you:

Create bibliographies and in text citations for assignments and research projects. Available writing styles include APA, MLA, Chicago, and many more.
Organize citations to create a personalized literature database.
Export citations for library databases and freely available websites.
Save and annotate PDFs.

Citation Management Platform Setup Information
Base OpenURL information for Minnesota State University, Mankato, which may be required to set up your citation management platform.
Mendeley Citation Management Application by UO Libraries
Mendeley is a free desktop and cloud application that helps you manage your research.
Zotero Citation Management Application by GSU Libraries
Zotero is free desktop application that helps you save, manage, and cite research sources.

Compare Mendeley and Zotero

How do you pick the best citation management software for you? We put together a comparison chart below to help you identify the different features available and figure out the best option for you.

	Mendeley	Zotero
Looks like:	Video	Video
Cost:	Free; fee for additional cloud storage	Free; fee for additional cloud storage
How to get it:	Create account	Create account
How it works:	Desktop or web-based client	Desktop client
Mobile compatible:	Mobile-friendly website	3rd party apps available Mobile-friendly website
Data is stored:	On your computer; Cloud (if you sync)	On your computer; Cloud (if you sync)
Can I collaborate with others:	Yes	Yes
Where to get help:	Mendeley Support	Zotero Support

Credit: This comparison information was adapted from the University of Victoria Libraries.